In addition to the CPTED grant just announced last week, Kettering University and UACC partners received an additional $1 million federal grant to support efforts to create a safe, walkable University Avenue Corridor region connecting McLaren Regional Medical Center, Kettering University and surrounding neighborhoods to downtown Flint along University Avenue.
The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program grant — part of the Obama Administration’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative — will provide $1 million over three years to help convert the University Avenue Corridor into a vibrant region by developing and implementing sustainable crime prevention strategies that spur community engagement and development and promote health and safety. Kettering and Flint were one of only six communities nationally to receive the BCJI grants.
The grant encourages a wide cross section of partnerships. Kettering, along with the Flint Area Reinvestment Office (FARO) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), led the grant proposal process. The grant has also enabled research collaborations among many universities, including Kettering University’s Computer Science department, the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice, , and the University of Michigan-Flint’s Department of Health and Health Sciences and Department of Earth and Resource Science and Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice and the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center at the University of MIchigan School of Public Health.